TOMB RAIDER:The Crusader of Avalon
by Gmonster
Summary: Lara Croft along with her mysterious companion Sam, has found Excalibur within Germany and together find a lost city on the edge of war. For King Arthur's most dangerous enemy has return to finish what he started. And Now Lara must overcome her personal guilt and resentment toward her mother in order to do unthinkable...awaken Arthur before his hour of need. (M for nudity)
1. The Knights of the Underworld

_It is nice to be a spoke in_

 _the wheel, one that helps to_

 _turn,not one that hinders-_

 _Gertrude Bell, the Queen of the Desert_

 _ **Tibet- Deep within the Himalayas**_

 _ **Two figures appeared through the snowy horizon making a deep pathway. They had both been searching since early morning in what was the harshest winter ever seen within the first year.**_

 _ **The figures covered there faces with goggles and prototypes of a new breathing device made for deep sea expiration.**_

 _ **One of them had wear a bright orange coat while the other wear a black coat and gloves. Even with the best high tech equipment money could buy, it still felt useless to look for her, the others give up hope of ever finding her alive and well.**_

 ** _Then one spotted something through the snowy haze..._**

 ** _A fire_**

 _ **Coming upon it the two figures raced to it and saw another sight, that of a grave**_

* * *

 _ **The orange coated figure shake in sight of it,**_

 _ **there were breathing hard as the hand wiped the snow off of the cross.**_

 _ **They feared what they would see beneath it**_

 **Hemsley, my Beloved**

 ** _"Thank GOD,its not her" the figure to shout with joy but then the other one point to the other, seeing three other gravesites. Clearly the one they had come to find had done a lot of grim work within the past few weeks. As they both neared the last gravesite, the fire still glowed within there sight._**

 ** _Both of them realized it was within a huge cave._**

 ** _They past cooking pots meant to be joyful wedding gifts were broken or unclean from use,_**

 ** _Various dresses were ripped or torn. They were covered in layers of dirt._**

 ** _A hand radio nearby but it now seemed smashed beyond repair,_**

 ** _Photos were laying on the floor as the orange figure picked up one of them as the black figure lit up a flare_**

 ** _And both noticed tracks of high heels seeming running deeper into the dark cavern_**

* * *

 _ **The cavern was vast and as the two of them want further into it, they were feeling...warmer?**_

 _ **The black figure could see hints of what looked like machinery ancient and unused through out the darkness**_

 _ **The other one noticed the peaks of buildings in ruins and disrepair, how did she ever survive in such a weird unknown place like this?...**_

 _ **Where ever the hell this place was, it was the last place for which both of them were excepting to find her.**_

 _ **Twice in the last year people kept telling them that she was dead,**_

 _ **the search parties hired would come up empty,**_

 _ **Then as luck would have it, the wreckage of the plane had just been found the day before.**_

 _ **That was the one glimmer of hope for see her alive and healthy. Still would she ever be the same person they both know?**_

 _ **Suddenly the dark cavern was giving way into a bright shining center**_

* * *

 _ **This was the bizarre area of all**_

 _ **The figures were both looking up at a huge gigantic statue that dwarfed the entire "city" as it were...**_

 _ **It was the figure of a medieval fully armored knight whose right hand was holding a sword. This sword looked strange with unknown letters written across the top. At the center of it was a huge red gem stone, which from just its size would take thousand men to pry open.**_

 _ **Seemingly the bright light was coming from the gem.**_

 _ **And it was pointing downward toward a lonely stone seemingly at the very heart of this strange city**_

 _ **They both near it though...**_

 _ **"GET AWAY FROM THERE!" cried out an angry female voice when**_

 _ **Suddenly out of the darkness come forth a figure in a torn ragged business suit, her hand holding a rusty pickaxe. Her face bleeding and scars braking throughout as it showed hatred and anger. With grinning teeth as her hand swing the axe launching at the invaders again**_

 _ **As the one of the figures shouted out...**_

 _ **"Lara... STOP PLEASE...IT'S US!"**_

* * *

 _ **TOMB RAIDER:THE CRUSADER OF AVALON**_

* * *

PRESENT DAY: THE TERME RIVER, TURKEY

A young rather beautiful looking Asian woman had get out of the cab and with a huge shopping bag in hand, begin walking toward the huge dig site near a crowded beach area. The woman with her darkened sunglasses watched as a hundreds of diggers worked there way around gigantic ruins that shined in the dull midday sunlight.

Clearly she just hoped this person would found would be worth it, then she eyed a tall handsome man with wild spiked hair talking quite loudly to his phone

"Yes i know the workers haven't been payed in a week...

No there is still no sign of the treasure that the Amazons were supposed be hiding here, why ask?...

What the hell do you mean Croft hasn't enough money in her account?...

ATLAS!?, damn it man why don't you tell me soon?...

THAT'S NOT A BLOODY EXCUSE...hello...hello?"

Suddenly the young woman tapped him on the shoulder pretty nearly scaring him to death "Am sorry but here to speak with Doctor Lara Croft?"

The man begin laughing abit as he put his phone as he answered "She hates just it when refer to her as "Doctor"

"And who are you then?" The woman questioned in quite a annoyed tone for him

"Am Winston Smith, basically am supposed to be her Archaeology assistant but so far i think she makes out as her butler..."

The woman laughed again as the workers suddenly shouted in Turkish, as a figure emerged from one of the deeper holes made in the ground.

She wore a rather looking green tank top and blue shorts,her figure made the Asian woman red with envoy. If it wasn't for the huge amount of dirt covering her face, she would be mistaken for a high profile supermodel. Every curve of muscles were filled with sweat that she couldn't stop noticing.

Clearly this was the right woman

And she was holding a large looking wooden box which numerous painted figures among them at the very center, that of a tall topless woman riding a lion. She raising right arm which was fitted with a strange looking war gauntlet. Yet the strangest part of it was the fact that it was warping her arm in thorny looking spikes.

That detail she noticed get Croft smiling widely

* * *

 _"Madame, could this box have the fabled Gauntlet of Hippolyta?_ " Questioned one of the more excited workers as Lara bend down to the ground to open the box...

Everyone looked inside to see...just wrecked bits of pottery shreds.

"Bloody hell, all this work for nothing!" Lara cried out the most disappointed as she turned to see both Winston and the Asian girl

"Winston, what did i say about inviting any of your girlfriends to the digs!"

Surprised by her remark Winston turned and laughed nervously "Girlfriend!?...me ahahaha...no actually this is...this is...um who are you again?"

The Asian woman giggled abit before answering them both

"How rude of me, my name is Samantha Nishimursa"

* * *

Winston had the look of shock on his face as all of them want into Lara's tent at the edge of river

"Nishimursa as the famous video game company?"

Sam don't looked surprised as she talked "Yes the very same since my father owns the company and upon seeing that your're in need of some funds. I could actually set you up with some people that know in Japan to help you out for life..."

Lara just smirked at this Samantha "Let me guess, i have to do something for you...right?"

Now holding over the big shopping bag to Lara, that was enough an reply for her...

As both she and Winston uncovered it to see a gigantic medieval designed shield. Beautiful and yet strange drawings were all over it, covered in bronze lettering along with the rough shape of a island with what look like a sleeping figure in the very center.

Lara could make out some of the lettering "Its Celtic, possibly mid 12th century...WINSTON! look here, this word..."

She shouted in surprise as Winston run his hand to hers as both of them said

"...AVALON!"

* * *

"Where did you discover this?"

Sam seemed oddity nervous at first before answering the rather excited Lara "Rather by accident, it was laying there at some abandoned U-Bahn station near downtown Berlin.."

"Show me" she said as Sam quickly told her she had it in the cab and they waited for her...

"Winston, call my uncle tell him to pay the workers now and then head back to England..."

"Lara, his excepting you to stay in Istanbul, the funds with him..."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE BLOODY FUNDS!, this is about correcting a mistake i made ages ago!" She angrily shouted at him

"At what cost? you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened!

And i can't make up anymore excuses to that bastard Atlas and he's the one whose still holding accountable to happen to his dear sister..."

She slammed her fist down on the desk in a fit of rage as she speak up again "...You forget Amenda as well, this is woman may be lead to the key to get to what i believe to be the Underworld"

"Or your're death Lara, since when has any of your other leads ever pan out back to the myth of King Arthur and his court?"

"None of us had then,and besides going back to Glastonbury was wasted of time as you once told me...if i remembered correctly" She sharply said to him as he closed his eyes in embarrassment.

"Well okay Lara...what the hell do i tell Uncle Atlas then?"

She just smiled widely "I'll think of something"

* * *

BERLIN...few days later

"Your're supposed to be here to make a deal with my father?" Sam sounded quite surprised as she and Lara walked toward what was left of the station

"Not far from the truth though, given that you failed to mention that your're father's main office building is right across from here" Lara sounded almost disappointed as she eyed Sam. There had always been false leads when it come to seeking out the location to the mythical Isle of Avalon. Lara had just been sick of it and half of the time wanting to just give up the search for it.

Yet Sam seemed to somehow sense that as she smiled at Lara and in a filthy tone "Believe me , am not leading you on any wild goose chase"

As she pointed toward the spot where the shield once lay. Lara saw a huge outline where it rested next to the huge steps that downward into the pitch darkness. Even if it was the middle of broad daylight, she did a pair of flashlights with them. They finally stopped at huge wooden boards that blocked the main station.

"Any idea why this station was closed suddenly?" Lara questioned to Sam

"Mostly rumors but the main one was stories of various construction workers were found dead,covered in bloody strange symbols.

And there were sounds of "monsters" in the furthest end of the station. It get so bad that government just closed it up, paying off the rest of them to keep quit"

"Yet one of them somehow found a shield and put it out for all of Germany to see?"

Sam don't seemed to have an answer to that as she watched Croft kick in one of the boards.

* * *

Both of them entered into the U-Bahn station.

It seemed perfectly normal from every other tube area that Lara had traveled on. There where a few odd things such as the graffiti being faces that looked in terror or anger. More like a warning to anyone stupid enough to just wander into here. "What the hell would make them do this?"

"LARA!" Sam suddenly shouted as her flashlight shined on a train that had seemingly crashed right into one of the back walls. But that wasn't catching her eye as she saw it reveled a huge stone faced mouth...

"Well that's something you don't see everyday in the subway!" Lara cheerfully said to the rather serious look that Sam was giving her "...What?"

* * *

Making there way through the ruined cars and into the mouth

Sam held on to Lara's hand as they stepped over broken glass and bend chairs. "So i can't help but overhear about your're uncle.."

Lara groin in annoyance "My uncle isn't really my biggest fan.."

"Why does he hate you?"

She stopped in the middle of the train eyeing her sadly "My uncle believes that i killed my mother..."

"Doctor Amelia Croft...i read the newspaper about what happened, she was once the famous British Archaeologist and..."

"And THAT'S why am so hated!" Lara said bitterly just she walked away from her.

Lara with the help of the flashlight pried the subway door opened, stepping out into a more brighter chamber then the station they just left.

She noticed that Sam don't seem too surprised by any this...almost like she was excepting it. The room was bigger then anything within the city and yet the lights they had barely phased into the endless darkness. Maybe she was going crazy now from the combination of jet lag and the feelings that come with the ever mysterious Sam. Who remained her of her old self.

The big bad "mean girl" of a number of finishing schools,

the spoiled rich brat heiress whose life was set up with all the trappings of marriage.

The girl who found her mother's work in history basically boring and never wanted to be like that woman,

"Atlas's favorite" who win tennis match after tennis match...

THAT girl dead in Tibet, what come afterwards was someone else. The "mean girl" wouldn't last a second chasing after...

The lost city of Atlantis and its mad Queen Natla...

The Dragon Dagger within the Great Wall of China...

The relics of the Lost City beneath Antarctica...

The Amulet of Horus...

And yet that part of her was still in the back of her mind. She don't want to relive Tibet ever again, but without question here she was in the middle of Berlin chasing after clues to a Celtic myth with a beautiful Japanese video game company heiress...

Yeah that doesn't sound a least bit crazy!

* * *

Stepping from the subway car unto the stone floor...

The touches around them burst to life lighting up the room as Lara suddenly realized it was much bigger then she at first thought.

Somehow this place was much bigger then the city of Berlin. Yet the ravages of time had taken there total on it since walkways had fallen apart, gigantic gears were seen that still do the same job they always did but now filled with the sounds of rusting metal. Waterways run past mills that were no longer working.

Weirdly enough it don't smell bad at all in here, there was scent of flowers and warm mist filling the air

"Who build this place?" Lara questioned as Sam looked behind her and keeled

She turned to see that subway car was at the very feet of a gigantic statue of a young 20 something man wearing some kind of skull cap. He had the detail of a small goatee, with wild hair, his right hand holding a huge wooden staff made of oak. His left hand held a strange Frisbee type object with sharp spikes pointing outward.

"...Merlin, the greatest and most humble of us!" Sam simply answered to Lara's now even more confused look

She seemed to be ignore it though "Come, we must get to the key before they do..."

"KEY!...what the fuck is there a key involved?" Lara sounded really confused by now

Now more serious sounding then before they come in here, Sam closed her eyes in what look like shame...

"I HAVE MY ORDERS!, you don't understand yet what would happen if we fail..."

"I have no BLOODY IDEA what is going on...but you lead me here to this "key" then and we're done!..."

"Lara...

Okay then...after this you and your're "assistant" can go back to that little dirt heap in Turkey..."

"GREAT!"

"...Without ANY of my dad's money ever covering the support of that greedy bastard uncle of yours!" Sam smiled widely at Lara at that.

Lara covered her face in her hands in shame "...Your're very ruthless at this, aren't you?" she said quite bitterly

"I was taught by the best"

* * *

Lara don't know how far she and Sam walked before coming to a stop at one big door in the center of the walkway.

Clearly this place WAS the true reason behind the German Government shutting the station down. The "monster sounds" was that of the rather sinister looking machines that Lara pasted by. She didn't what even know who or what marked the workers to death if Sam was be believed.

For all she know the one worker put up the shield as a warning not knowing if that would do the trick.

Yet clearly she was keeping her mind pretty much focused on Sam...

WHAT THE HELL HAD SHE GOTTEN HERSELF INTO!?

Who was "us?"...

What "mission?" ...

Why did "Merlin!?" look like some goth rock star with a goofy looking fresbee?...

None of her research into NISIMURSA GAMES ever brought up the fact that the heiress to the company was like...this!?

Sure Lara loved playing video games,more or less but there last few games hadn't been as good. She preferred the first of there best selling series RUTHLESS FANTASY QUEST for which surprisingly Sam designed most of the levels for it.

She hated the reboot game though with the passion of a thousand burning suns...

Sure after that there more questionable things she as a gamer don't enjoy. Gaming in general don't beat Archaeology or writing these travel books but she did still have time to like most of the Nisimursa brand.

Then she vaguely remembered that only few years back Samantha was part of a research vessel of a total asshole "archaeologist" rival of her mother's and herself...

Whitman who with funds from the video game company, hopped on board the ENDURANCE with 19 crew members...

And then disappeared off the face of the earth with Samantha being the only survivor, found a week later drafting on a piece of wood in the middle of Tokyo harbor. Never once explaining how she don't look a least bit different from the rather horrible idea of being the only one left alive.

For that they at least something in common...the trips from hell

* * *

Sam was now the one eyeing two pressure pads as Lara walked closer to the door.

It wasn't Germanic at all in design nor did it seemed like the visitors before them had much luck ether...

Given that it was at the very end of the waterway and Lara could see that it ended in a huge shining floor of spikes, one misstep would sent the various "brave" people to there death.

Being curious stepped on the pressure pad and the door opened abit...

"Merlin wasn't a fool to some people like us to figure this out..." Lara said to Sam as she pointed to the other pressure pad.

Quickly getting off of it made the door closed faster. "This pad isn't doing anything Lara" Sam shouted

Suddenly Croft realized she needed a substantiate for the poor fool standing on it. Looking around she found a small border piece near the pad, clearly this could easily done as she left it up by her fingers.

Grinning her teeth and weight was really something back breaking, she throw the piece on Sam's pad.

Clearly it was working but the other pad was another thing to figure out, she the area endlessly for something to get onto it...

But it was Sam who pointed toward the head of the serpent statue, Lara silently get what Sam wanted to do...

As Lara reached inside her brown backpack and pulled a grappling hook, a small gift from Doctor Amanda Evert

"When on my mark pull it down with me..." She calmly said to her as the hook leached onto the head

"1...

2...

3..."

Together both of them broke the head of the serpent. As now the pressure pads opened the doorway into the inner most chamber...

"Well now that wasn't so bad" Lara triumphantly said to Sam's even more disappointed look

* * *

This was the most strangest area that had Lara ever seen...

Nothing but skeletons clad in thick armor lined the walls, there heads bowing before them.

They all had the same uniform crest design of a red dragon spewing out fire from its mouth.

The room itself was very clean for some reason as if the age of time had stop for it. She noticed that Sam was bowing her head and uttering a strange chant to her ears...

She was speaking in something that sound like Old Welsh, it just don't make sense to her as who these knights were.

But that was nothing compared to the center of the tomb as Sam suddenly fall to her knees...

* * *

Lara could hear Sam crying and almost yelling in full Welsh before the dead figure in the center of the room...

Not still knowing or understanding what to do, she bowed before it as well.

Lara noticed it was the most elegant looking skeleton yet, with bright red armor covering the body, the face or what was left of it seemed to be at peace. The cape of the figure was showing the same design from the shield...

With the adage of two towns at the center and to right of the sleeping figure.

Now she wanted to know why caused this knight's death as she lifted the cape off of him...

* * *

Through what was lift of the ribcage shined out a golden blade with blackened Celt writing on it.

Quickly turning the figure over, she found that only the blade was sticking out.

Being that Sam's insane shouts echoed through the room, she whispered quickly to the knight

"Sorry old boy but i think you may this "key" if that was your only purpose!"

Lara then reached inside the red armor, founding that top blade quite easily within her left hand and with a simple pull ripped it out...

* * *

Looking at it with closer detail, Lara found herself looking at the top half of a very well made unnatural sword...

The gold never seemed to dull with age and there had been little cutoff marks into every other side to it. The letters glowed in the weird light of the room

There was the question of happened to the bottom half of this sword or why she seem to get the feeling of truly knowing as WHAT she was holding...

"Excailbur...ahaha the sword of kings"

Just then the skeleton's hand fall off, opening to reveal a glowing green jewel...

She was just going to pick that up too when she hear clapping noises coming from the walkway...

* * *

Sam had stopped her chanting and had the look of disappointment and anger but that was nothing compared to the new group of figures who entered...

" **BRAVO Lara...and you too for allowing my men finally into the sacred caverns of Merlin"**

Spoke out a newer rather dark figure surrounded by huge armored men with guns and gas-masks covering there faces.

She noticed the figure was female with pale looking skin and red hair that was in the form of a boy's cut. Oddly enough this female had a eerily similar figure to her's in every possible way right to there curves and breasts. She wore a black tank top and green shorts. Showing off that the fact that the figure seemed even slightly in height to Lara or Sam.

The female's nails were sharpen like claws and even in dimness of the gas masks were two bright yellow eyes

The voice though sounded deeper and much darker in tone, it was weirdly scary to hear

" **Let's get to the point now...SAMANTHA, we're here to take Merlin's Key!.."**

Sam nodded her head in anger at the figure "My mission is to get the key back at all cost.

Can't you understand what will happen if it falls into the wrong hands!.."

The female figure laughed lightly toward Sam's protests " **WE'RE THE RIGHT HANDS!, my master just wants to make this world a better place"**

Now it was Sam's turn to laugh "AHAHA, i have seen what kind of work your're FUCKING master has done, it sickens me...So ether leave or kill me!"

Now she neared Sam and with her claws touched the young woman's face but then ended up punching Lara right in the stomach

" **Killing you wouldn't solve anything but...killing her would make you talk more easier!"**

Lara just smirked even if this woman picked quite a punch "Just try that again and you lose the hand.."

Suddenly the figure changed her mind, snapping at one of the nearby men

As the soldier balled up his fist, she stepped on both of the solder's toes that were holding her. With the Excailbur blade she stabbed both of them and then simply punched the female in the face.

Kicking them out

Even as she grabbed Sam who was chanting again!...

Only to found the walkway was covered with these...solders "Sam! , i think if we...THE HELL!?"

Noticing that Sam's eyes had turned blood red, she let go of Lara's hand and made a weird gesture toward the skeleton knights inside the room...

* * *

 _COME...BACK...TO LIFE...MY CHILDREN!_

With that the skeletons suddenly burst forth living and breathing...

They launched themselves at the gas masked solders, not even bothering with Lara or Sam

"Your're quite...scary do you know that?" Lara felt quite honest in what she said as Sam basically answered "Its an easy enough trick from the Lady of the Lake..."

Even if alot of the solders were fighting off the skeletons, some of them still had time fire off rounds at her...

With her twin guns in hands, she take out least a few of them. But still had to figure out how to get out of here...

Then one waterway caught her eye as she noticed a ancient tank above it that reach all across the ceiling...

"Can you swim?" She questioned toward Sam

"Yes...if it calls for it...why ask?"

Quickly Lara aimed her guns at the tank smashing it open "BELIEVE ME, IT CALLS FOR IT"

* * *

Next thing they knew was a wild rush of water overtaking the both of them

As one side of the cavern was smashed open and for several intense seconds, Lara felt like she was the wildest water slide ever known

Nothing but there screams were heard through the endless chambers until...

Coming up toward air in the middle of a street corner in busy Northwestern Berlin

It was quite something as police cars pulled up to see two women covered in raw smelling sewage

Sam begin to laugh hard at Lara

"I think we should have taken a different train...and you look horrible!AHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

* * *

Several hours later and finally within the comfort of the warm hotel room

Lara was on her phone talking none stop to Winston

"It was incredible...giant statues of medieval knights...

Numerous chambers filled with skeletons...

Yes well the only thing keeping you from going to it is...water damage...

And the Berlin police have no idea it exist!..." She eyed Sam in her bathrobe and wasn't listing to the overexcited assistant

"Listen just try to found Allister, he's the main except on Arthurian Lore in Germany and call me back on that...thank you Winston"

* * *

Suddenly she grabbed a hold of Sam's arms in anger

"OKAY WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT BACK THERE!?" Lara shouted out

She was calm, nearing Lara's face "Your're not ready..."

"READY?...stop talking in riddles and make sense as what going on here!"

Sam just shake her head "I CAN'T!, i swore an oath to being me the key and now you have..."

"And...what your're going back to Nishimursa Games and acted like nothing weird ever happened?"

"...NO LARA, the game company is not where am headed and you sure as hell better not follow.."

"I haven't ANY clue!, you think these solders will allow us to leave Berlin ALIVE?"

Sam suddenly laughed bitterly toward Lara "I swore to return and it pains me to have leave someone like my father again...

But you are something else, insanity different to anything i ever encountered before including these damn giants.."

Before she react to whatever the hell Sam was talking about...

She fling opened her robe and kissed Lara hard on the lips

Sam don't care about the towel that she was wearing and throwing it toward the other side of the room. It felt natural to even have the kiss go deeper then before.

Her hands wandered unto Lara's breasts as there mouths bite each other.

She couldn't stop moaning from what was happening as there kiss stopped...

There nude bodies fully against the wall of the hotel room

Sam giggled as she whispered in Lara's ear "Your're mother is pretty good at this too"

Suddenly Lara backed away from Sam in complete and utter surprise "What did you say about my mother!?.."

Then she felt the sensation of something hitting her neck and pulling it out she found it was a green dart, as she found Sam had get hit with the same thing. Now completely blacking out she found the pale white figure coming toward her

" **Sweet dreams...princess"**

* * *

 _ **TIBET**_

 ** _Lara was screaming angrily at the new figures with her pick axe as both dodged it. Then one of them grabbed ahold of her and punched her_**

 ** _Awakening several hours later, she was back within her safe camp site at the mouth of the city_**

 ** _Lara had finally out who they were..._**

 ** _The one closest to her was a tall woman with a yellow crew cut, big blue eyes and red lips "Amanda?.."_**

 ** _The other was a woman that Lara had truly missed for all the time she was within these mountains._**

 _ **She was the tallest to Amanda, she was similar in looks to Lara including the nose. But she wear an medical eyepatch over left eye while the right eye was pure green. Her hair was mixed of brown with black highlights.**_

 _ **Her hands were rougher from being up in this weather for far too long.**_

 _ **Lara couldn't stop smiling at her "MOTHER!"**_

 _ **"Its okay darling, your're safe, you can come home with me and Doctor Evert.."**_

 _ **"Ohhhhhh mother, you don't know what its like here.." she was shaking with fear and wasn't understanding what was going on.**_

 _ **"Ever since the plane want down...THEY wouldn't allow me to leave"**_

 _ **"That's nonsense dear, all we saw where the bodies from the crash side..."**_

 _ **"...Am not talking about them!"**_

 _ **They both heard Doctor Evert scream in horror at the end of the cave...**_

 _ **Running quickly Amelia nearly screamed as well seeing the large white beings crowding around Amanda.**_

 _ **There teeth were sharpen fangs and there claws were ripping through the thick coat. Then without saying a word, Lara grabbed from the floor one of the flares and lit up the central room.**_

 _ **Such action caused the ghastly creatures to run in sheer terror at the light**_

 _ **Lara motioned her mother to go toward Amanda, shaking a bit in fear**_

 _ **Amelia on the other hand noticed movements out of the corner of her eye of the creatures.**_

 _ **But trying to grab Amanda was getting harder as kept back away from her "Amanda...please, don't be stupid"**_

 _ **Suddenly Doctor Evert's hand pushed down into the central stone**_

* * *

 _ **A huge booming sound echoed through the the city enough to kick Lara off her feet**_

 _ **With that the huge horde of the fanged white creatures made there way toward the now helpless women...**_

 _ **Then Lara noticed the eyes of the knight statue open...the creatures stopped dead in there movement**_

 _ **As she suddenly hear the statue..."talk"**_

 _ **"FOUL THINGS OF THE NIGHT...**_

 _ **BE GONE FROM SIGHT...YOUR'RE MASTER WILL NEVER RISE AGAIN...**_

 _ **HIS CRIMES HORRIBLE BEYOND MEASURE BUT THE CHAMPION WILL AWAKEN SOON..."**_

 _ **Seemingly the creatures run back into the darkness of the strange city as the statue eyed the two women before it...**_

 _ **"AVALON NEEDS YOU!"**_

 _ **Lara suddenly saw the giant red gem shine even more brightly on both her mother and Doctor Evert.**_

 _ **Before Lara could be move there was a blindly flash of light**_

* * *

 _ **Lara awake to see her mother and Amanda AGAIN!**_

 _ **Running toward the stone, she saw that it was broken and reaching inside a dull looking bit of coal**_

 _ **The floor of the room was covered in the blacken ash skeletons of the white creatures. Only the statue and the giant gem remain the same**_

 _ **"BRING THEM BACK...**_

 _ **AM BEGGING YOU...**_

 _ **PLEASE BRING THEM BACK!"**_

 _ **Lara cried out, her face red from tears.**_ _ **But the mysterious statue was silent once again**_

 _ **Croft don't wanted any of this to happen as it she realized in her moment of personal pain...**_

 _ **She had to get to Avalon and one or another rescue her mother and best friend from whatever fate lay there**_

* * *

 _ **NEXT THRILLING CHAPTER: THE BLADES OF THE NIGHTMARE CASTLE**_


	2. The Blades of the Nightmare Castle

Lara had awakened in soft warm sheets in a bed, but not anyplace like her and Sam's hotel room.

"SAM!?" she suddenly realized as they both get knocked out by the pale figure from the strange underground cavern. Her head felt like it had the worst hangover since being at the 3 Bells pub.

It was not a good thing ether way as she suddenly found that someone had already dressed her.

Looking in the mirror, she saw a white mid century looking dress with swans and fairy designs altering through it. Her hands had on long green gloves, her hair done up into a more old fashioned pony.

Her lips had the taste of red peppermint favored lipstick, with her the sides of her eyes filled in sprinkled eye shadow.

This was even confusing then what she had experienced within the subway tunnels.

Suddenly a figure dressed up as a butler but still wearing a gas mask, bowed before her

"Madame, dinner is served"

* * *

Going down the stone staircase, she spotted many odd details of her new surroundings.

For one thing the numerous stone lions looking straight at her, with there jeweled crusted them black marble gargoyles with sharp wings and claws. None of this don't seemed to give the feeling of a warm welcoming place at all.

She couldn't shake the fact ether as to how the solders even found both her and the mysterious Sam so quickly.

There wasn't anything about Sam that she don't trust yet and fore all she know, was working of with these strange solders.

Then again she had a good idea as who these solders basically served as well...

* * *

Entering the dinning hall seemed to give off a warm if not once again a friendly vibe...

Such as the spiked ball chandeliers above her or the nasty looking black spider legged dinner plates across the white marble table. Lara still don't quite understand as where she was. And the dining room seemed to be filled with some even more odd scary details.

Such as each panting around it was featuring various people in armor get implied or in others a skull faced knight screaming silently in pain.

"I happen to like that one..."

She turned to see a strange figure standing across from her as well as...

"SAM!" Lara yelled as the figure stood grabbed her hand and began laughing

"AHAHAHAH, That is not how you treat a welcoming host, wouldn't you say so...Moor?" questioned the figure as they seeming neared Lara

The gas mask butler answered "Of course...sir simply not right"

* * *

Out of the shadows of the candle light emerged a figure...

Wearing the same type of gas masks as the others, Lara saw. This figure was way more elegant and yet unhinged in terms of looks. With them just wearing a red 17th century coat and poured wig. She noticed there right arm wear a black knight's gauntlet that don't seem to fit the rest of the general look...

Lara noticed the voice of this strange figure sounded oddly feminine in tone as well as...almost familiar

She saw that Sam was dressed up in a more medieval style red laced dress with a flower cap.

Lara also noticed that the pale woman was sitting lazily, doing her nails with a sharp dinner knife.

The "host" beckoned her to the nearby table as guards emerged to forced Sam to sit as well.

"Where the hell am i?" Lara questioned blankly to them as the host simply laughed eerily

"Ohhhh that's what i like about you Lara...getting to the point, but where are my manners.

I welcome you to the most terrifying castle in all of Hamburg...Castle Kriegler!"

* * *

Now it was Lara's turn to laugh "AHAHAHA that's insane, the castle doesn't exist..."

"Basically YES, but then again Doctor Croft, you should try reading more into your're German ghost stories.." The host sounded more arrogant then she ever did. As Sam give a odd look on her face still not having a clue as what was going on.

Lara looked across the table at Sam as she spoke up again "Castle Kriegler was said to be build by a deserter of the later Crusades, the man was said to need "companionship".

Yet everyone around him kept dying, and in the moment of his sorrow decided to build himself a castle...

Where he would "keep" here with him, first by creating full Automatons to fill it with merriment..."

The sinister host laughed abit "Your're forget the best part of the castle!.."

"Oh you mean the death traps, he build into every inch of the castle and which he ended up being the first one to get kill by them!" Lara intoned toward the host as they come closer to her.

"Such a smart woman much like her mother!.." they whispered in her ear "How the hell do you know my mother?"

The figure seemed silent for a moment before touching Lara's face. As if they were touching a work of art but the strange feeling come over her like it was a familiar gesture and felt like only one person had ever done that before.

"Wouldn't you like to know" as the figure take out the golden blade of Excalibur into Lara's dinner plate

* * *

The figure wiped there hands as both Lara and Sam give these people dumbfounded looks...

"You see, the Mad Crusader was said to have hidden within this caste a great treasure..."

Then Lara begin to realize what the aim of these solders and what they truly wanted "Am NOT getting Trinity the ultimate power of King Arthur"

Everyone around Lara laughed through there gas masks including the host "TRINITY!?, these foolish pack of idiots who want to change the world.

Ohhhh no am not with them. There aim is...small.

Mine is much bigger more focused. The power of Arthur is one way of doing of just that..."

"And you think am just going to hand over the rest of the sword to YOU!?" Lara spoke up more mad then ever to her "host"

"Ohhhh your're have no choice in the matter, with that power i going to start reshaping the world.

Much like when the king reshaped the whole of England, it will be a beautiful sight..."

What the host said was very upsetting to Sam as she now spoke up "You and your're insane army were never supposed to rule the world, much less Avalon.."

"...And your're a BORING NUN who wasn't supposed to leave her place within it. Its going to such a joy to finally make everyone you ever love suffer because you don't do your job!" they intone toward Sam as she suddenly know what they meant

"GO TO HELL MORDRED!"

Lara lit up with even more confusion as the figure now known as "Mordred" suddenly laughed in a more sinister tone toward Sam. While everyone was looking toward her...whatever "partner", she eyed the blade on the table

"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

that's Sir Mordred to you witch, i will now allow Doctor Croft to see how well you can talk when i broke every single bone in your're body.."

Before the host could move there hands toward Sam, Lara suddenly moved over to her side of the table..

"Why don't you just fucking shut up for once!"

As she held the golden blade and stab it into the nearest one of Mordred's solders

* * *

Grabbing Sam, Lara run into what was basically the entry hallway of Castle Kriegler. As both of them avoid the machine gunfire that rung out from the dinning area. One of the solders give chase after her and as the girls near a strange looking carpet...

The solder fell into a bed of spikes across a spinning tile within the hallway

"Oh...ummm i don't think this through.."

Sam faced Lara with a look of anger on her face "Ohhh DON'T THINK THIS THROUGH?, your're fucking kidding me here. I had everything under control until YOU decided to stab somebody..."

"Listen SWEETIE, i don't think your're realize but WE'RE IN A DEATH CASTLE!"

She turned to see that whole parts of the floor begin spinning but only ones featuring a red tile. The carpet was non moving blue tile, somehow she and Sam had to think like the Mad Crusader in getting past his traps.

First thing was stepping on the non moving areas which was difficult given that the red tiles moved at random times.

Lara was figuring out the pattern as she quickly moved around the entry hall while Sam seemed to have also figured out, somehow more faster then her.

Still angry though but not talking, both women were trying get out of this alive...

As both finally stepped on the strange carpet

The moment they did so seemed to triggered something as suddenly the red tiles spin into solid blues deactivating them...

And opening a door in the huge fireplace nearest to them...

* * *

Lara smiled toward Sam but she wasn't amused one bit by her

Entering into the fireplace proved that there safe passages to through within this one twisted man's idea of a castle.

Walking past strange almost human looking Automatons acting out various medieval customs or dancing among themselves completely oblivious to viewers like Lara.

To say this castle was weird was understatement and like a theme park attraction gone horribly wrong, she noticed things like a tall male skeleton impaled by the non working Automaton King whose was supposed to be "knighting" him...

Or the fact that both Lara and Sam's dresses come from a huge scene of noble women dancing and non singing in a festival

Then coming across a eerie scene to Lara within these various displays.

The figures of knights all gathering around a sleeping figure covered in a black cloth. Sam seemed to be kneeling as she did before in the underground area, as Lara looked more closely at the details of these Automatons...

* * *

They seemed more detailed then the simple wooden ones they passed on the way

She noticed they were wearing what like actual armor on the robotic forms, several of them spotted what looked to be actual human hair within the helmets...

And they were all female with the sounds of there rusty parts.

Sam was kneeling and once again speaking in old Welsh to them like old friends as it were.

Lara still don't who Sam was since just saying "yes" to this whole thing. But she was the only strong but strange link toward finding what happened to her mother. It was becoming apparent that the Japanese video game heiress had somehow been allowed to stay on the mythical isle of Avalon.

That she had somehow forget the trauma of being the only survivor of the Archaeology group and had "gone native" as it were.

Lara can't imagine herself ever being like that, yet in the back of her mind she could.

She still had the sad fact that her own uncle hated her very guts for just about everything. Even if proving that her mother was somehow still alive wouldn't do make things easier.

But that was nothing compared to the fact that like her other discoveries that there truly was at one time, a real King Arthur...

...And Sam was worshiping him?

Merlin had build a secret city underneath the busy streets of Berlin!?

There was also some lunatic in a gas mask going around calling himself "Mordred"!?

Yeah none of this sounded completely utterly insane at all

* * *

Going up to the black cloth figure itself, Lara had noticed a inscription in German

 _Let those who are brave in spirit, touch the lips of the Once and Future..._

The rest of the words were fated and hard to make out whatever it was felt around the statue for any other clues that would lead to the other piece of the sword.

Then lifting the veil of it, she saw a outline near the face of the figure. Pulling out the blade, she pushed it right into it.

Suddenly the statue slide aside to a open passage below. Sam was smiling as expressed happiness in her voice

"This is it, the path leading to the Lost Dominion!"

* * *

Lara had begin to rip off the helm of the dress, that she wore for the sake of not overheating. Given the fact that it seemed there was a sudden change in temperate, yet it don't seem to even bother Sam one bit.

Personally she felt a bit stupid for even kissing this woman in the first place like some insanely dumb teenager.

Still it felt like the same warm feeling she had with Amanda a long time ago...but why was she even thinking about her again?

She usually separate her lesbian feelings to herself and not when "work" happened. She never get ashamed of eyeing women in every possible way, but then again not every woman looked back. Lara was someone who also "scared" a number of those same women without meaning too.

Amanda seemed to the only one who match her in terms of being at least a long time ago, being "Miss Right" to the then young school girl. But that school girl had still dead a long time ago as well. Along with Amanda and her mother!

Lara had to surpass any feelings she had because there was no way in hell,

people like Sam could be an replacement to Amanda Evert within her own guilt ridden heart.

"You seem to know where we're going" Lara said straight forwardly to Sam

Taking out a small piece of paper, Sam looked down and pointed her finger to the right side of the new dark hallway "The sword is this way"

Lara smirked a bit at her "Thanks for that little insight Sister..."

Suddenly Sam had an annoyed look on her face "ME being a nun has nothing to do with you or what happen!.."

"Ohhhh i am sorry if you think that kiss back in Berlin was basically a MISTAKE.."

"Well maybe it was MS CROFT, because you know back there i had EVERYTHING under control with Mordred!..."

Lara laughed a bit "Oh yes, he was ready to kill you if i hadn't step in and now i don't feel like trusting you now.."

Now it was Sam who was laughing mockingly at Lara "AHAHA, i don't trust ether your're know given that infamous reparation you have among explorers and there fans"

"Please if i were to listen to half of them, i wouldn't be in this job in the first place and.."

Suddenly the ground beneath them give way

* * *

Waking up several hours later

Both Lara and Sam had some very rough headaches among other parts of there bodies.

"DAMN IT!, what was with this crazed moron and his love of traps?" Lara said rather angrily as Sam lit up a nearby torch

Sam suddenly take interest in a elegant medieval fresco style painting on one side of the chamber, they had fallen in. A scene of numerous vessels heading toward a island with a gigantic pyramid in the center.

"What kind of city is this?" Sam questioned as Lara bitterly laughed

"That is the lost city of Atlantis.."

"Are you sure?"

Lara couldn't forget that city if she tried as she answered Sam again "Am pretty sure"

As they both walked carefully through the darkness of the area known as the Lost Dominion. This place was looked far older then the castle above them, possibly the real reason as why someone like him would even put up traps. She noticed that Sam was still pretty mad at her and for good reason.

But she need not focus on that now as she saw as she saw a whole room filled to the brim with gold and jewels

And in another inaccessible area a entire library filled with old books scattered along with scrolls

In another area, a room filled with statues including Egyptian, Japanese, Native American,Chinese,Polynesian and as yet unknown type with black eyes

This must have been a storehouse of for someone well before that of a German nobleman. And yet it seemed by the looks of it, he never touched nether was interested in what lay around here.

This place was an Archaeologist's dream come true for Lara Croft and yet Sam much like the city beneath the subway know about it!?

She noticed among the main hallway walls paintings showing off

The Temple of Xian

The lost city of Tinnos

The Bankhang Monastery

The Kingdom of the Golden Mask

The Temple of the Cat

And finally...

"AVALON!?" Lara shouted as Sam just smiled warmly as both looked at the huge painting. Sam guided Lara toward a nearby doorway

"That isn't the only surprise here.."

As Lara with her gloved hand swapped the dust off to see a name under it...

 _Here be the final resting place of the brave knight of Camelot_

 _Sir Gard Croft_

* * *

Her mother always spoke of a knight somewhere within the Croft family tree. Not that she know much about him or the stories surrounding this relation, just that he disappeared sometime after the Crusades ended.

The official story being that he had dead somewhere around Cairo

But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all, as Lara touched lightly on the CROFT stone at the side of the door

Much like the room before them in Berlin, this one too was well lit. But different since she noticed Sir Gard's tomb in the middle of it.

Beautifully designed in marble that shouldn't have been possible given what was happening around Germany at the time. She never figured he was also somehow a very late "Knight of the Round Table" and yet she was standing within his tomb.

"I had no idea why you even brought me here.."

Sam give a serious look to her as they walked past the tomb to see something even more amazing

A giant stone sit in the middle of the room, inside lay the golden halt of Excalibur

* * *

"I needed someone "heroic" to pull that out" she said in a straight forward manner to Croft

She laughed nervously a bit toward Sam "And what if it doesn't think am worthy?"

Sam lowered her head as she answered "You DON'T want to found out what happens if you piss off Excalibur, believe me.."

"Well then that's...basically terrifying, no pressure then!"

She cranked her fingers as she slowly walked toward the stone

Leading right hand into the tip of the handle was stunning to say the least. It felt like a bolt of energy was going through her body as she hold tightly around with other hand and saw a million different images going through her head.

All of them confusing to make out as to what was happening to her

Trying to surpass that, she finally pull out the broken halt of the most powerful sword in all the world

* * *

Sweat pouring down her face as she lift it above her head. Laughing with glee as Sam run to hug her

"My god Lara that was totally cool...Now with Merlin's key the two halves become ONE!.."

Suddenly Lara give Sam a confused look as she said "THE KEY!?, i thought you had it!"

 **"I have Merlin's Key ladies, come and get it!"**

Both them turn to see that Mordred and there mysterious companion had been watching them from the doorway. With the snap of Mordred's fingers, the eerie gas masked solders were seen crawling among the walls of the Lost Dominion.

Mordred walked toward the tomb of Sir Croft

"At last, the Lost Dominion the storehouse for the knights who raided the forbidden and forgotten tombs of old...much like you my dear"

Lara was again tightening up in front of this strange but oddly familiar "host" of hers "My great ancestor must known how dangerous it was if you get ahold of this bloody damn sword.."

"HE WAS NOTHING MORE THEN A FOOL, denying me my birth right. You Lara don't have to be one ether.

Stand beside me as i will grant you the power of the gods themselves"

She was eyeing right into the mask as Mordred begin to laugh "Your're NOT god.."

"Well then, am going to personally see to your're path to damnation then!"

Lara just smiled as she just answered "You first.."

Unleashing the golden blade against Mordred's head, only to be blocked by the menacing steel gauntlet. Just as Sam used her magic to flung one of the solders off the walls. Until the pale woman forced herself into Sam's back hitting one of the back walls.

Lara had during the near struggle with Mordred, get the blade kick out of her hand. Forcing to just punching out the figure out

As she run toward where the blade had fallen...

Only to be overtaken by a nearby solder. Kicking him out with enough force to sent him into the depths of the mysterious Dominion

* * *

Lara grab a hold of one of the rifles, starting to take aim at the various solders whose movements wouldn't human at all. Firing shot after shot against the endless wave of creatures or whatever these were.

"Miss me.." Mordred said mockingly as the sinister figure near her, punching her this time and then disappearing again

With the rifle she kept trying to hit the figure but couldn't given how fast they moved around

But then with just a lucky shot, aim at Mordred's gas mask as they back into a center area...

Seemingly the force sent Mordred back as there mask become broken from the powerful bullet. Lara smiled again as seemingly the solders back away from her

Grabbing onto the blade, she saw the bits of what remained of the gas mask...

" _Lara"_

Suddenly she turned to see a woman with short blonde hair staring back at her. The woman appeared to be a bit younger then she was, her face had big blue eyes and blackened lips.

Her face covered in strange green colored tattoos

Lara know who this woman was...

"Amanda!?, is it really you?"

* * *

With the black gauntlet around her right arm, she begin tearing at the 17th man's shirt she wore. Reveling that she been working out even intensively then Lara. Getting rid of the shirt had given her the outline of toned abs.

She showed off her breasts as the remains of the shirt fall away. Leaving just her wearing red leather pants.

Her being topless showed off more of the strange green tattoos that were pulsing through out her body. Like blood but moving shifty as if it were alive as well.

Lara couldn't stop breathing hard as tears come down her face "I...i thought you were dead!"

The black gauntlet grabbed ahold around Lara's neck as Amanda smiled widely

"... _You have no idea! my dear. Tibet was just the beginning to something wonderful and great..._

 _But on Avalon ohhhhhhh i become a GOD REBORN._

 _You think because of guilt that i need to pity me...well my dear that is where your're wrong_

 _With the power of Excalibur, i am going to start tearing this world apart piece by bloody piece until it bows before me in UTTER PAIN!_

 _And it's all thanks to you...Croft"_

Amanda stabbed Lara into the side of her stomach as she next felt like she was flying into the tomb.

And into the arms of Samantha. Grabbing ahold of the golden blade and the halt, she beginning a strange chant that echoed through out the tomb. As the key glowed green making Amanda yell in complete pain along with the rest of the solders.

With just the twist of Sam's wrist, Lara through willpower of the pain watched as the three pieces of the sword become one

Laying right into Sam's hands, glowing in a mixture of bright golden light with green shining through as well

The pain that gone through Amanda vanished as she run toward both Sam and Lara...

Sam just smiled as she nearly reached them "You lose again Mordred!"

As she pushed the completed Excalibur into the center of the stone, encasing them in bright light that knocked out Amanda...

* * *

"She's waking up, the Mother Superior must know... "

Spoke a lone figure in black who quickly rushed out as Lara get up startled and dazed in confusion

Her head felt like a billion needles had pass through with the worst headache in the world. As she went seemingly over to a nearby mirror

Her eyes were coming into focus again, as she saw herself in the old fashioned mirror

She was topless with the bottom of her belly button covered a fresh row of bandages. Seemingly by the look of the wound, she had possibly been here for the past three to four weeks.

She looked around to see a bowl filled with bloody water on a nearby chair.

As the sounds of bells filled her ears, getting curious as to where she was. She went toward her closed window...

* * *

Opening to see it was bright morning over a large village the likes of which she don't see before...

There was old fashioned buildings that wouldn't be out of place in the prime Medieval era of London. And yet there was black sleek metal framed buildings like modern sky scarpers of unknown type of shapes and sizes.

Just then Lara heard the sound of rumbling as something like a subway train flew passed her window

"Where the hell am i?.."

"...This is the city of Carbonek"

A voice suddenly answered from behind her, Lara turned to see a tall dressed in nun's robes. Yet she was wearing a bow string along with the holy long habit.

The nun's head was lowed as if not to directly look at Croft

The voice spoke with a familiar deep tone as they neared Lara

"Your're wound was nearly fatal, Mordred's glove was filled with a rather nasty poison...if Sister Samantha hadn't..."

"SAMANTHA!?, where is she and where in the world am i?" Lara questioned in confusion toward the nun

As the nun raised her head, smiling as Lara saw a female with a bright red eye patch on her left eye.

Once again Lara was left more dumbfounded then even whatever happened back in Germany..."Mother!?"

Amelia begin to hug her now overly tearful daughter as spoke happily again

"Welcome my beautiful daughter to the Isle of Avalon"

* * *

 ** _Author's note: This is interesting in just trying to combined elements from several TOMB RAIDER games mainly LEGEND and UNDERWORLD,as well as something newer to do with them._**

 _ **Including some sort of explanation for Sam and a surviving toughed version of Amelia Croft or why Amanda is possessed by the evil Mordred**_

 _ **Also into just the amazing dangerous world that is the lost city of Avalon**_

 _ **As a added note:Please review and see what you think so far of this story**_

* * *

 _ **NEXT CHAPTER: THE WOMAN OF BRONZE**_


End file.
